Knowing how to format a professional resume can improve your chances in getting your dream job.
The layout and design of your resume is as important as what you say, a messy, disorganised or overly complicated design will detract from what you have written.
It may also speak volumes about your attitude to the job.
As with personal interviews presentation is key to making a good impression.
These tips should help you order your resume to present you and your achievements in the best light.
Personal details Start with essential personal details; name, address, contact telephone number and email address.
If you have a professional website address include that too.
Education Show your graduate and post-graduate education, listing institute attended, dates attended, subject and class of your degree.
For secondary and tertiary education you need only list institution, years attended and number and level of grades received Employment history Starting with the most recent, list your employment history.
Show dates of employment, employer, job title, main responsibilities and salary.
Do not go into too much detail here there is room to show your skills and achievements later.
Skills and achievements In this section of your resume you should list achievements in your past experience that reflect the skills that your future employer is looking for.
You should give an example of you fulfilling each of the skills required by the job.
Other skills and abilities Here you can list things like computer skills, driving licence and any other skills that you have relevant to the post.
Personal interests Here you can show that you are more than just a job description.
List your hobbies, charity work and pastimes.
It can be a great way to get your prospective employer thinking of you as a person and can build rapport for your interview.
Overall layout considerations

• Try to keep your resume to two pages of A4
• Use white or cream paper
• Use a simple, non-fancy font.
  Arial is clean and easy to read
• Keep it orderly, use bullet points and short sentences
• Use active, dynamic language
• Use formal language
• Check your spelling and grammar
• Check the contact details of the company you are applying to

And finally Don't forget to research your company and tailor your resume to suit each company.
There is no faster way to get your resume in the bin than to have the wrong contact person, or worse, the wrong company name on your application.
With these tips you should be able to format a professional looking resume for every application.
Don't forget, keep it simple, orderly and accurate.